Door structure for pressure tanks



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. R. GAMMETER DOOR STRUCTURE FOR PRESSURE TANKS Filed June 28 1926March 27, 1928 I I I J..R. GAMMETER noon s'muclrunm FOR PRESSURE TANKSFiled June 28,- 1926 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wllllllllllllll UNITED STATESPatented Mar. 27, 1928,

JOHN B. GAMMETER, F AKRON,

OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE B. F. GOODRICH COMPANY, or NEW Yoax, n. r, A coBPORATION OF NEW YORK.

DOOR STRUCTURE FOR PRESSURE TANKS.

Application filed June 28, 1926. Serial No. 118,932.

This invention relates to door structures for pressure tanks such asvulcanizers, tanks for treating articles with fluid as in the case ofcreosoting wood, and the like. Heretofore the doors of large pressuretanks of this characte'rhave been sealed by, a lip gasket set in anannular recess .formed m the door jamb or in the door, as in my'UnitedStates Patent No. 1,226,766, the 11p gasket permitting, without breakingthe seal, the slight outward movement of the door under the force of thepressure within the tank which heretofore has been-..very diflicult toavoid, because of the difliculty I of obtaining and preserving a ood fitof the parts throughout the circum erence of a large and heavydoor.

Such use of a lip asket has proved serviceable in the case ofvulcanizers, where the .12 fluid contacted by the rubber gasket is steamor water, although in long usa may become over-vulcanized, at in tanksin which the contained 'material is of a gummy character, as in the caseof creosote or tar, and in which the construction has been such. thatthe material contacted the lip gasket, the latter has had thedisadvantage ofbecoming so coated and fouled with the material as toprevent its proper functioning.

My chief objects are to provide an improved structure in which acompression gasket may be employed to obtain an effective seal; toprovide against such play as 85 may result from wear of the fittings; toprovide for economy of construction and repair and ease of operation;and to provide such advantages in a door structure for the end of ahorizontal tank, wherein the congained liquid must contact the sealinggas- Of the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a door-structure embodying my invention inits preferred form.

Fig.2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section online H of Fig. 1.

Fig; 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Referring to the drawings,the shell of a vulcanizer or the like is shown at 10, upon the end ofwhich is mounted a ring castm 11 constituting the door frame or seat andformed in its end face with an annular,

e the gasketrelatively deep recess for seating a compression gasket 12.The bottom wall of the I gasket recess is formed with a concentricgroove 12, and the latter communicates with the interior of thevulcanizer through a plurality of apertures or passages 12, 12, so thatfluid within the vulcanizer will urge the gasket outward against thedoor structure of the vulcanizer when said door is closed. The gasketmay be of any suita- O ble material but is preferably composed es-,sentially of lead or other soft metal when the apparatus is to be usedwith gummy, viscous, or sticky material such as creosote, so that itwill not be disintegrated by opening and closing of the door. The doorhere shown comprises a domeshaped circular plate 13'and a ring casting14; secured to the plate and constituting the annular margin of thedoor. The door is hinged on a vertical axis, and with a loose fit, tothe door frame 11 at 15, and its marginal casting 14; is formed with aconical guide flange 16 adapted to mate, with substantial tolerance,with a female conical face 17 formed in the door frame, and the saidmarginal casting is also formed with an annular flange 18 adapted to fitinto the gasket recess of the door frame to compres and seal against thegasket 12.

The outer margin of the mug casting 14 of the door is formed withoutwardly-projecting .locking lugs 19, 19 equally spaced about itscircumference the said lugs thus alternating with and defining recesses20 20.

For enga closed, a ocliing ring 21 is rotatably mounted upon thedoor-frame casting 11 andis formed at 1ts annular forward margin in thelugs 19to hold the oor with locking lugs 22, 22 projecting radiallyinward at a distance in front of the doorframe casting, the said lugsbeing equally spaced apart circumferentially of the casting and thusalternating with and defining recesses 23, 23. The lugs 19 of the doorcasting are somewhat narrower than .the recesses 23 of the door-framecasting and the lugs 22 of the latter are narrower than the recesses 20of the door casting, sothat when the locking ring is in proper positionthe door may be closed, the lugs of each set assin between those of theother set, so that t e locking ring then may be turned to bring each. ofthe locking-ring lugs 22 over one of the door lugs 19, as shown clearlyinFigs. 1 and 3, to lock the door but.

The contacting faces of the lugs 19 and 22 may be given a smooth finishto avoid friction, and in the embodiment here shown, having other meansfor effecting the final movement of drawing the door against its seat,the said faces need not be oblique or of tighten the door against itsseat and compress the gasket 12 as the ring is rotated with its lugsinterlocked with those of the door, a' circumferential series ofhardened wear-plates 27, 27 are secured to the inner faceof the lockingring by screw bolts 28, 28,;each of said plates being formed with anoblique, highly-finished edge-face 29 adapted to mate, in a wedgingaction, with a complemental-face 30 of one of a circumferential seriesof similar plates 31, 31 secured to the outer. face of the door frame 11by screw bolts 32, 32.

.The wed ing plates of the locking ring may be ba ed by radial lugs 33,33 (Fig. 3) extending inwardly from the locking ring and the plates 31of the door frame may be backed by radial lugs 34, 34 projecting outwardfrom the latter, to avoid excessive strain upon the screw bolts 28 and30.

The parts are preferably given such relative dimensions as to providesubstantial clearance between all radially-overlying parts of thelocking-ring assembly and the doorframe structure, as shown clearly inFig. 3, excepting the rollers 24, so that the latter will constitute theonly means for positively holding the locking ring in concentricposition, and the locking ring will be rotatable with little friction. v

For rotating the lockin ring a segmentalgcar or arcuate-rac-k 35 18secured upon its margin and meshed with a pinion 36 journaled on astub-shaft 37 projecting from a bracket 38 mounted upon the rear marginof the door frame, thehub of the pinion being formed with a hole 39 toreceive a turn-bar.

In the operation of the device, which in general will be obvious-fromthe foregoing description, substantially all friction of tightening thedoor on its seat is taken by the smooth, plane faces of the locking lugsmesses 19 and 22 and the highly-finished faces of the wedging-plates 27and 31, so that a high compression of the gasket 12 may be obtained. Thegasket-compressing flange 18 of the door is not required to be rotatedupon the gasket, which avoids abrasion of the gasket, and as the saidflange 18' may be given a snug fit between the walls of thegasket-holding recess, the sealing-face of the gasket is well-protcctedfrom fluid contained high compression to it while substantially closingit off from the interior of the tank, and without sliding movement of asealing member against the gasket, results in a structure especiallywell-suited for treating articles with fluids of such character thatthey would destroy or would interfere with the functioning of a rubberlarly a gasket of the lip ty e.

My invention is susceptible of modification within its scope, and I donot wholly limit my claims to the specific construction shown.

I claim:

1. A door structure for pressure tanks,

the said structure comprising a door frame, a door adapted to seat ofthe said parts being formed with an annular gasket-receiving recess andthe other being formed with an annular gasket-compressing flange adaptedto fit snugly into the recess, a compression gasket in the recess, andmeans engaging the door at a multiplicity of positions about itsperiphery and constrained to act simultaneously at such positions fordrawing the door bodily toward the door frame, without relative rotationor angular movement of the door and frame, to compress the gasket, thedoor and the frame being formed with complemcntal, conical, guidingsurfaces.

2. A door structure for pressure tanks, the said structure comprising adoor frame, a door adapted to seat in the door frame and formed withperipheral locking lugs, a looking ring rotatably mounted upon the doorframe and formed with looking lugs adapted by rotation of the ring to beinterlocked with the lugs of the door, the door and the door frame beingformed with snugly interfitting, substantially cylindrical guiding sur.faces, and a compression gasket mounted between the door frame and thedoor.

gasket and particuin the door frame, one

3. A door structure as defined in claim 2 in whichthe looking ring andthe door ,frame are provided with coacting oblique surfaces adapted tomove the ring axially 6 .to tighten the door on its seat in the rotationof thering.

4. A door structure for pressure tanks, the said structure compnsmg acircular door frame mounted .upon a horlzontal axls, a

10 door mounted for movement into and out of closed position withrelation to the door frame, a locking ring for drawing the-two together,a roller bearing for the locking ring, the door and the door frame beingformed with snugly interfitting, substan tially cylindrical guidingsurfaces, and a compression gasket mounted between the door frame andthe door.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day of June,1926.

' JOHN R. GAMMETER;

